AG Cooper: New Animal Welfare Hotline in NC Gives You a Tool to Report Animal Cruelty

Published Wednesday, March 2, 2016 at 10:44 am

Submit reports of physical harm to animals to AG’s Office by phone, website and mail

North Carolinians now have a new tool to report animal cruelty, Attorney General Roy Cooper announced today.

“As a pet owner, I understand how important it is that our animal companions get the care they need,” Cooper said. “I encourage North Carolinians to use this new tool if they have information to report about animals being harmed.”

Under North Carolina law, acts of animal cruelty include wounding, injuring, tormenting or killing an animal, depriving an animal of necessary nourishment, or causing any of these things to occur to an animal.

State lawmakers created the Animal Welfare Hotline during the 2015 session of the NC General Assembly and placed it in the Attorney General’s Office effective March 1, 2016.

The Attorney General’s Office will review animal welfare complaints submitted via the hotline and refer them when applicable to the appropriate authority. Depending on the details of the complaint, local animal control officials, the local Sheriff, or the N.C. Department of Agriculture may have the authority to take action.

People who contact the Animal Welfare Hotline are also welcome to share their animal cruelty concerns directly with their local animal control or Sheriff’s Office.